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THE  PUBLIC  PLAYGROUND 


An  Interesting  Development  in 
Education 


\  e  f*  *  **  Y 


"Batter  up!"  at  Chico  Normal  Training  School.        '* 


by  EDWARD  HYATT 


Superintendent  Public  Instruction 


.03 


7Vn'.y  w  £/«?  f/n'/'J  of  a  series  of  leaflets  on  Health  Conservation  authorized  by  the 
legislature  of  1911  at  the  request  of  the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  of  the 
State  of  California,  under  the  auspices  of  Mrs.  Sara  J.  Dorr,  the  president,  and  Miss 
Anna  E.  Chase,  the  secretary.  It  is,  therefore,  appreciatively  inscribed  to  the  good 
women  of  that  organization,  those  who  never  weary  in  well  doing,  and  who  make  such 
a  powerful  influence  for  good  in  every  corner  of  our  commonwealth. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


This  circular  is  to  call  the  particular  attention  of  the  people  of  California  to  a 
great  social  movement  that  has  spread  over  our  whole  country  almost  in  a  day,  so 
quickly  that  we  hardly  realize  it,  or  understand  it  —  the  Playground  Movement. 

This  country  is  so  strong,  so  young,  so  full  of  lusty  strength,  that  it  has  not  had 
as  yet  much  thought  of  the  future.  It  has  never  stopped  to  worry  about  the  kind 
of  human  beings  who  are  coming  on.  It  has  been  so  eager  in  developing  its 
resources,  so  swift  in  its  pursuit  of  dollars,  so  engrossed  in  spending  money,  that 
little  thought  has  been  given  to  preserving  the  sane  and  wholesome  human  life  that 
is  necessary  to  the  real  prosperity  of  any  land. 

Opportunity  for  relaxation  and  play  are  necessary,  just  as  food  and  drink  are 
necessary.  Without  them,  man  is  a  morose,  dissatisfied  and  dangerous  demon. 
Those  who  own  the  country  now  and  run  it  now  must  give  thought  and  time  and 
money  to  the  play  of  the  young  people  who  are  coming  on.  They  withhold  it  at 
their  peril  and  at  the  peril  of  the  land. 

We  are  herding  incredible  numbers  of  artisans  and  laborers  into  congested  cities, 
with  no  opportunity  for  relaxation  and  exercise  in  the  open  air. 

We  have  been  building  huge  schoolhouses  on  the  crowded  streets,  and  filling 
them  full  of  thousands  upon  thousands  of  children  without  opportunity  at  home  or 
at  school  for  natural  play  in  the  sunshine  and  the  open  air. 

We  drive  the  little  boys  and  their  games  of  ball  away  from  the  vacant  lots  in 
order  to  cover  the  lots  with  buildings  —  and  give  the  boys  nothing  instead.  We 
make  grand  parks  and  fill  them  with  flowers  and  grass  and  shrubs  —  not  for  the 
poor  people  and  the  children  to  use,  but  for  the  rich  people  in  good  clothes  to 
admire  and  point  to  with  pride. 

We  give  our  school  grounds  to  the  janitor  rather  than  to  the  children.  The 
youngsters  are  penalized  if  they  come  early  or  stay  late.  The  school  hours  are 
arranged  for  the  convenience  of  the  teachers  rather  than  for  the  good  of  the  chil- 
dren. The  whole  school  plant  is  used  less  than  half  of  the  time. 

All  these  things  and  many  others  of  similar  import  constitute  a  peril  to  our 
nation  that  good  citizens  must  face.  The  Playground  Movement  is  directed  against 
it.  Therefore,  I  venture  to  send  this  little  message  to  the  good  people  of  the  Golden 
State,  asking  them  to  read  it  and  think  about  it. 

Very  truly  yours. 

EDWARD  HYATT, 

Superintendent  Public  Instruction. 


310346 


A  MODERN  PLAYGROUND. 


General   view   of   the    Echo    Park   Playground   at   Los    Angeles,    one    of   the   largest   and   most 
modern   in   the   country.      This   shows   a   characteristic   setting   and    characteristic   activities. 


The  great  American  game  as  it  is  played  at   Echo   Park.      Lungs  and  arms  and  legs  are 
given  the  work  intended  for  them,  and  necessary  for  health.      Note  the  wide  spaces  afforded 
by  this  playground.      Some  such  opportunity  is  necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  state  wherever 
there  are  congested  populations. 


THE  PUBLIC  PLAYGROUND 

An  Interesting  Development  in  Education 


Prepared  by 
FREDERICK  B.  MOORE 


WHY  PLAYGROUNDS? 

Play  is  the  natural  activity  of  childhood.  It  is  through  play  that  the  teacher 
enters  into  intimate  touch  with  the  child  and  secures  an  actual  personal  influence 
over  him.  Children  get  their  real  life  largely  through  play  and  derive  from  it  their 
interests,  on  which  education  must  always  largely  depend.  , 

Yet.  it  is  only  within  the  last  dozen  years  that  Americans  have  begun  to  realize 
the  importance  of  play  and  to  meet  this  need,  that  is  greater  and  deeper  and  more 
vital  than  any  need  for  books  and  study. 

The  America  of  our  grandfathers  was  essentially  rural.  In  the  latter  third  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  however,  new  economic  and  industrial  conditions  gave  rise  to  a 
great  tide  of  humanity  sweeping  city-ward  from  the  fields  and  villages.  Cities  grew 
at  a  rate  truly  marvelous.  /  The  native  population  became  urban  in  many  great 
sections  of  the  land.  The  people  were  drawn  into  the  cities.  Born  of  a  race  of 
pioneers,  adapted  by  heredity  and  inclination  to  the  free,  open,  vigorous  life  of  the 
farm  and  woodland,  the  children  bore  the  brunt  of  the  change.  They  were  the 
ones  who  suffered  most.  They  were  crammed  into  tenements  and  flats ;  herded 
into  schools  without  room  for  active  play;  pressed  harder  and  harder  by  more 
exacting  teachers ;  forced  to  seek  recreation  in  the  canyon-like  streets,  in  foul  air 
and  moral  contamination.  They  were  restricted  more  and  more  closely  by  ever- 
increasing  laws  and  ordinances.  They  were  given  a  strange  environment  that  took 
the  pink  from  their  cheeks  and  the  steel  from  their  natures.  Through  them  the 
race  was  degenerating.  The  new  generation,  the  citizens  of  the  future,  were  for- 
gotten. Now.  recognition  for  their  welfare  is  coming,  and  the  cities  generally  are 
beginning  to  value  and  conserve  the  strength,  vitality  and  sanity  of  their  men  and 
women  of  to-morrow,  even  while  they  are  paying  in  sickness,  and  crime,  and  vice, 
and  anarchy  the  price  of  past  neglect. 

The  movement  has  spread  throughout  the  land.  From  a  recognition  of  the  play 
need  has  grown  a  realization  of  the  benefits  of  crganizcd  play.  Thisr  linked  with  a 
movement  t(5  make  the  school  the  civic  and  social  center  of  each  community,  has 
extended  the  scope  of  the  Playground  -Movement  even  to  the  rural  districts.  It  has 
a  message  for  every  community  in  the  land. 


This  is  an  interesting  view  of  the  yard  of  the  Frank  McCoppin  School  in  San  Francisco, 
Miss  Sarah  B.  Jenkins,  principal.  It  shows  a  play  festival  in  progress,  with  the  children  of 
the  school  as  participants  and  the  adults  of  the  neighborhood  as  spectators.  This  is  a  new 
use  for  the  small  city  school  yard,  and  is  an  excellent  thing,  not  only  for  stimulating  the 
interest  of  the  children  themselves  in  their  school,  but  also  for  promoting  a  community 
spirit,  and  for  making  of  the  schoolhouse  in  a  sense  the  social  center  of  the  community  it 
serves.  Note  the  basketball  equipment  shown,  and  the  modern  outside  stairs. 


II. 

HISTORY   AND    IDEALS. 

Historically,  the  Playground  Movement  in  this  country  began  in  Boston  in  1886, 
but  concerned  itself  then  only  in  a  limited  way  with  the  needs  of  small  children. 
For  a  dozen  years  thereafter  the  movement  lay  dormant,  until  in  1898,  the  begin- 
nings of  the  world-famous  Chicago  system  were  made.  Upon  this,  especially  the 
big  recreation  center  system  of  South  Park,  have  been  modeled  a  very  large  number 
of  the  public  playgrounds  all  over  the  United  States.  The  growth  was  slow,  even 
after  the  beginning  was  made.  In  1906,  but  forty-one  communities  in  the  United 
States  had  supervised  playgrounds.  There  were  but  eight  playground  associations 
and  no  State  playground  legislaiton.  Ninety  cities  maintained  playgrounds  in  1907, 
one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  in  1908  and  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  in  1909. 
During  1910,  a  hundred  and  ninety-five  more  cities  began  playground  campaigns, 
and  the  movement  is  now  general  throughout  the  United  States.  New  Jersey, 
Massachusetts,  Virginia,  Ohio,  Washington  and  California  led  in  enacting  play- 
ground legislation,  and  others  have  followed  till  now  sixteen  States  have  such  laws. 
In  the  last  decade,  municipalities  in  this  country  have  expended  considerably  over 
$60,000,000  on  playgrounds  alone. 

IDEALS  ARE  SOCIAL. 

The  ideals  of  the  movement  have  been  primarily  social  from  the  first.  In  the 
very  beginning,  they  were  negative  —  to  keep  the  children  away  from  the  physical, 
social  and  moral  dangers  of  the  street.  With  its  growth  the  movement  has  taken 
up  a  series  of  positive  social  and  economic  aims.  The  forms  of  activity  are  quite 
varied,  including  besides  ordinary  games,  play  and  swimming,  such  things  as 
dramatics,  motion  pictures,  gardening,  civic  clubs,  folk  dancing,  industrial  work, 
libraries,  self-government  clubs,  singing,  story  telling,  play  festivals. 

Thinking  people  realize  that  through  the  recreation  center  workers  are  made 
more  efficient,  so  that  factory  and  other  industrial  labor  will  be  better  done  because 
the  operatives  will  be  better  fitted  for  their  tasks.  They  realize  that  scientific  study 
of  juvenile  delinquency  has  shown  that  recreation  centers  are  powerful  agents  in 
reducing  juvenile  crime^-  They  realize  there  is  no  more  effective  way  than  this  of 
fighting  tuberculosis.  They  appreciate  the  benefits  of  the  development  of  com- 
munity spirit  through  festivals  and  other  public  gatherings  of  a  local  nature.  Those 
interested  in  the  assimilation  of  the  immigrants  coming  to  this  country  recognize 
in  the  playgrounds  the  real  melting  pot  of  the  nation.  In  playgrounds  are  found  a 
powerful  weapon  for  fighting  the  white  slave  traffic.  At  the  playground  is  devel- 
oped in  the  child  the  civic  sense ;  he  learns  to  live  with  and  get^along  u-ith  other 
children,  and  thereby  acquires  the  fundamental  training  of  citizenship\  ) 

Money  expended  on  playgrounds  is  not  lost.  They  meet  a  typically  modern 
requirement,  in  that  they  are  good  business.  They  are  worth,  to  the  community,  in 
increased  efficiency  of  its  citizenry,  and  decrease  in  crime  and  vice,  the  cost  of  put- 
ting them  in  and  maintaining  them.  ;  Their  preventive  effects  have  already  been 
amply  demonstrated. 

IDENTIFIED  WITH  SCHOOLS. 

Recently  has  grown  up  a  disposition  to  link  the  playgrounds  more  closely  with 
the  schools.  It  is  parallel  with  a  movement  that  is  making  of  the  schoolhouse  the 


civic  and  recreational  center  of  the  community.  Less  and  less  are  playgrounds  the 
work  of  private  organizations  and  endowments,  and  more  and  more  are  cities  and 
towns  putting  the  public  moneys  into  the  work  of  caring  for  the  play  needs  of  the 
children  and  the  children's  parents. 

Dr.  Luther  H.  Gulick  declared  after  three  years  of  investigation  that  sixteen 
per  cent  of  the  children  who  drop  out  of  school  while  in  the  grammar  grades  do  so 
because  of  ill  health  and  relievable  physical  deficiency.  He  declares  such  children 
progress  nine  per  cent  more  slowly  than  healthy,  normal  children  in  their  school 
work.  The  work  of  the  playground  would  seem  to  be  more  important  to  these 
children  than  the  work  of  the  schoolroom  itself. 

But  over  and  above  this  is  the  direct  educational  value  of  play  itself.  The  game 
has  a  benefit  for  the  mind  and  the  spirit  as  well  as  for  the  body,  and  so  has  its 
important  function  to  perform  for  the  most  robust  child,  just  as  truly  as  for 
the  sicklv. 


A  period  of  unmixed  joy  at  a  municipal  summer  camp,  on  the  beach,  Los  Angeles  county, 
California.  Barefoot  American  boyhood  is  not  only  being  fed  at  nominal  cost,  here,  but  is 
learning  the  fundamental  lessons  of  citizenship,  in  this  democratic  contact  with  his  fellows. 


III. 

THE  MOVEMENT  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

California,  in  company  with  other  States  of  the  Pacific  coast,  has  done  much 
toward  adequate  playground  provision ;  very  much  more  remains  to  be  accom- 
plished in  the  future. 

The  roster  of  cities  that  have  made  serious  efforts  along  this  line  is  considerable 
San  Francisco  has  spent  well  over  a  million  dollars  in  developing  a  system  of  seven 
playgrounds.  Oakland  began  in  1909  with  two  small  school  playgrounds,  and  now 
has  ten  good  centers,  five  in  parks  and  five  in  school  yards.  Los  Angeles  had  the 
first  municipal  playground  commission  in  the  United  States,  and  up  to  January 
Tit,  1911,  had  expended  $137,000  for  the  work.  The  commission  has  supervision 
of  thirteen  play  centers,  in  addition  to  a  site  of  fifty-three  acres  secured  this  year, 
which  is  to  be  made  one  of  the  most  complete  recreation  grounds  in  any  city  in  the 
United  States.  Berkeley,  Sacramento,  Stockton,  Chico,  Marysville,  Riverside, 
Redlands,  Pasadena,  San  Diego,  Eureka,  Fresno.  Yuba  City,  Watsonville,  and 
Santa  Monica  are  among  the  other  cities  of  the  State  that  have  been  active  along 
this  line.  Seashore  and  mountain  camps  are  becoming  popular,  extending  the 
field  of  activity  to  rural  districts. 

It  has  come,  moreover,  to  be  recognized  that  the  need  for  supervised  playgrounds 
is  not  confined  to  the  larger  cities,  but  extends  to  the  smaller  city  and  even  to  the 
rural  community. 

EDUCATING  LEADERS. 

A  crying  need  in  playground  work  is  for  the  efficient  and  trained  supervisor  and 
leader,  who  must  be  a  combination  of  the  athlete  and  social  worker.  Directed  or 
supervised  play  is  necessary. 

To  meet  this  need  for  competent  play  leaders,  normal  schools  and  universities 
are  putting-  in  courses  that  are  more  and  more  nearly  touching  the  practical  want. 
While  only  about  half  the  normals  on  the  Pacific  coast  have  done  so,  four  of  the 
California  state  normal  schools  have  equipped  model  playgrounds  and  are  training 
pupils  for  the  work. 

Recognition  of  the  need  is  being  given  by  the  universities  of  the  coast.  The 
University  of  California,  following  up  the  great  success  of  a  course  in  plays  and 
games,  given  at  the  1911  summer  school  session,  has  greatly  enlarged  the  course 
and  the  number  of  instructors. 

However,  the  need  for  trained  leaders  has  so  far  outsripped  the  supply  that  three 
cities  of  the  coast,  i.  e.,  Seattle,  Portland,  and  Los  Angeles,  have  put  in  training 
schools  of  their  own  and  are  operating  them  successfully. 

PLAY  AS  EDUCATION. 

A  committee  of  the  California  Teachers'  Association,  in  a  report  submitted  early 
this  year,  said :  "One  of  the  significant  developments  of  the  movement  is  the 
awakening  of  educators  to  the  importance  and  significance  of  play  in  the  educa- 
tional development  of  the  child.  In  Alameda,  the  Board  of  Education  by  order 
made  plays  and  games  a  regular  part  of  the  school  activities,  and  required  certain 
of  the  teachers  to  actively  take  part  with  the  children  in  their  plays  and  games. 
This  has  been  attended  with  wonderful  results.  School  architecture  is  also  taking 


on  marked  changes  to  meet  the  growing  idea  of  the  schoolhouse  as  a  community 
civic,  social  and  recreation  center." 

After  a  summary  of  educational  work  along  playground  lines  on  the  Pacific  coast 
and  particularly  in  California,  the  report  continues  : 

"The  private  association  is  rapidly  passing  out  of  existence  as  an  active  force 
in  this  development.  The  municipal  commission  idea  is  growing  stronger  and 
stronger  and  is  rapidly  developing  into  the  larger  idea  of  the  Public  Recreation 
Commission.  The  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  whole  development  of  the  past 
three  years,  however,  has  been  the  sudden  awakening  of  the  school  systems  of  the 
various  cities  and  towns  and  even  of  the  rural  districts  of  the  State.  There  are 
several  reasons  for  this  and  the  prospect  is  that  the  school  system  is  likely  to  be 
the  dominant  factor  in  the  playground  development  of  the  future  in  all  except  the 
very  largest  cities,  and  even  in  these,  the  backbone  of  a  system  of  municipal  play- 
grounds will  be  the  school  playgrounds.  With  the  ra*pid  development  of  the  school- 
house  as  the  social,  civic,  recreative  center  of  the  people,  the  importance  of  the 
schoolhouse  as  a  factor  in  the  playground  and  public  recreation  scheme  of  a  city  or 
town  or  a  country  district  takes  on  still  greater  significance. 

"Aside  from  the  social  possibilities  of  the  school  playground  and  the  school  build- 
ing, to  educators  the  educational  power  of  organized  play  and  games  in  relation  to 
physical  growth,  mental  development  and  character  building  is  too  potent  a  force 
to  be  longer  neglected  as  a  vital  part  of  the  scheme  of  public  instruction." 

. 
NEEDS  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Needs  of  the  playground  movement  in  its  relation  to  the  schools  of  California 
are  outlined  in  the  report  as  follows : 

1.  A  better  understanding  on  the  part  of  school  workers  and  of  patrons  of  the 
movement,  and  of  the  significance  of  the  movement  as  an  educational  power  and  as 
a  great  constructive  social  force. 

2.  Teachers  prepared  to  act  as  leaders  in  plays  and  games  with  the  children. 

3.  Professional  leaders  in  play  and  recreation,  for  the  cities. 

4.  Larger  area  for  school  grounds.     "Many  schoolhouses  are  now  being  erected 
upon  plats  of  ground  entirely  inadequate." 

5.  Careful  collection  and   study  of  data  relative  to  the  development  in  all  its 
phases.     "It  has  been  eight  years  since  the  first  playground  commission  was  estab- 
lished by  a  municipality  in  this  State.     Within  that  time,  the  movement  has  spread 
with  remarkable  rapidity  and  has  taken  many  different  forms.     Within  that  time 
has  developed  the  large  idea  of  Public  Recreation,  involving  the  question  of  proper 
opportunities  for  the  right  use  of  leisure,  not  only  of  the  children,  but  of  all  the 
people.     The  schools  are  looming  large  in  this  new  idea,  but  certainly  no  one  is 
prepared  to  state  with  surety  just  what  form  of  organization  can  handle  this  new 
form  of  public  activity.     All  of  the  facts  need  to  be  collected  and  studied." 

To  meet  the  need  for  more  school  play  space,  playground  people  of  California 
are  planning  to  bring  before  the  legislature  a  bill  fixing  the  minimum  size  of  school 
grounds  at  100  square  feet  per  pupil. 


IV. 

WHAT  IS  A  PLAYGROUND? 

A  playground  is  a  place  to  play.  But,  it  must  be  more  than  that,  else  the  chil- 
dren will  not  be  attracted  and  will  not  come ;  and  it  does'  not  secure  the  desired 
results.  A  playground  should  have  apparatus  and  equipment,  yet  even  such  a  play- 
ground does  not  secure  large  attendance  of  children  and  may  become  a  public 
nuisance.  A  third  factor  —  supervision  —  is  an  essential.  In  fact,  the  three,  space, 
equipment,  and  supervision,  are  necessary  to  the  playground  in  its  perfection ;  the 
first  and  the  last  are  essentials. 

The  need  for  more  space  is  easily  recognized.  The  school  playground,  the  street 
and  prim  parks  with  inviolable  grass  have  been  too  often  the  only  play  places  for 
the  children  of  cities  and  towns.  In  most  places  school  playgrounds  have  been 
entirely  unsuitable  in  size.  Only  the  simplest  games  or  no  games  at  all  could  be 
played.  Advanced  educational  thought  is  now  heartily  for  roomy  school  grounds 
everywhere ;  a  standard  has  been  fixed  at  thirty  square  feet,  at  the  very  least,  for 
each  pupil.  The  size  of  municipal  playgrounds  can  be  determined  by  no  such 
standard,  of  course,  but  a  committee  of  the  Playground  and  Recreation  Association 
of  America,  in  a  recent  report,  set  two  acres  as  the  minimum. 

CHOOSING  THE  EQUIPMENT. 

The  proper  equipment  and  organization  of  a  playground  is  a  technical  matter 
that  will  naturally  be  shaped  by  the  leader  or  director  in  charge  of  the  work. 
There  are  numerous  experts  now  at  work  in  the  State,  who  may  be  appealed  to  for 
advice  or  assistance,  such  for  instance  as  C.  B.  Raitt,  director  of  the  Los  Angeles 
city  playgrounds;  Bessie  L.  Stoddart,  president  of  the  Los  Angeles  Playground 
Commission ;  L-  H.  Weir,  field  secretary  of  the  Playground  and  Recreation  Asso- 
ciation of  America,  with  Pacific  coast  offices  at  1058  Phelan  Building,  San  Francisco, 
Cal. :  Max  L.  Stone,  director  of  the  Q-street  playground  in  Sacramento,  and 
others. 

The  following  pieces  of  apparatus  are  almost  universally  used  and  may  be 
regarded  as  standard  equipment  at  present : 

The  sand  bin,  for  the  little  tots.  It  consists  of  a  sheltered  and  protected  space 
enclosed  like  a  flower  bed  and  filled  with  clean  sand.  Many  fascinating  activities 
center  about  if. 

The  slide,  for  the  next  size  of  children.  Its  great  advantage  is  that  it  can  be 
used  continuously  by  any  number  of  children.  Many  of  the  best  pieces  of  apparatus 
for  individual  use  are  practically  worthless  for  the  playground,  because  they  can  not 
be  used  by  large  numbers  at  the  same  time.  The  slide  furnishes  exhilarating  exer- 
cise in  rapid  succession  and  is  perhaps  the  most  popular  feature  of  the  playground. 

The  horizontal  bar,  for  boys  of  all  ages  and  conditions  is  probably  the  most  use- 
ful apparatus  of  all.  It  should  be  adjustable  in  height  and  should  be  underlain  by 
a  bed  of  sawdust  or  other  elastic  material  to  avoid  accidents. 

The  swing  is  probably  the  most  common  piece  of  apparatus  in  the  play  of  small 
children  everywhere.  It  is  also  one  of  the  most  dangerous,  and,  as  generally  made, 
one  of  the  most  unsightly.  The  swing  frame  should  be  of  steel  gaspipe,  3  inches 
in  diameter  if  threaded  or  2y2  inches  if  made  with  solid  joints.  The  whole  should 
be  well  braced  and  set  in  concrete  about  3*4  or  4  feet  deep.  The  swings  for  a 


school  yard  should  not  be  over  8  or  10  feet  high.  The  tall  swing  takes  up  too  much 
room,  is  preempted  by  the  larger  children,  and  is  too  dangerous.  The  swings  should 
be  placed  in  the  most  retired  corner  of  the  yard  and  parallel  with  the  fence,  where 
the  other  children  will  not  be  struck.  People  are  apt  to  fear  that  the  children  will 
be  hurt  by  falling  out  of  the  swing.  This  rarely  happens.  The  real  danger  is  to 
the  child  who  is  running  by.  If  two  children  are  standing  up  in  a  swing  and  swing- 
ing hard  and  another  child  runs  by  and  is  struck  in  the  side  of  the  head,  he  wilt 
certainly  be  seriously  injured  and  may  be  killed.  In  some  places  the  swings  are 
fenced  off,  so  as  to  prevent  this.  A  piece  of  rubber  hose  is  sometimes  nailed  to  the 
side  of  the  swing  board,  so  as  to  deaden  the  blow  if  a  child  is  struck.  For  the 
school  yard  it  is  best  to  have  as  light  a  swing  as  possible,  because  its  momentum  is 
not  so  great  in  that  case,  and  it  is  easier  to  put  out  and  take  in.  A  wooden  board 
and  ropes  are  to  be  preferred  to  an  iron  seat  and  chains  or  links. 

Seesaws,  ladders,  parallel  bars,  wooden  horses,  swinging  rings,  giant  strides  and 
other  things  of  the  kind  can  be  added  to  the  apparatus  when  room  and  funds 
permit. 


Gardening  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and  helpful  activities 
of   the   playground. 


There  should  always  be  generous  provision  for  active  games  and  room  reserved 
for  gang  plays  in  every  decent  playground.  The  lively  sports,  requiring  running, 
jumping,  striking,  throwing,  all  under  the  exhilaration  of  the  contest  and  out  in  the 
open  air,  are  much  more  beneficial  in  every  way  than  the  cold  and  artificial  exer- 
cises of  the  gymnasium,  much  better  than  anything  carried  on  by  means  of  formal 
apparatus.  The  real  function  of  the  playground  is  to  furnish  opportunity  for  the 
natural  sports  and  games  of  American  youth.  It  is  absurd  in  California,  the  land 
of  sunshine  and  outdoor  life,  to  have  indoor  gymnasiums,  or  to  shut  away  the  free 
air  of  heaven  from  any  of  our  forms  of  bodily  exercise. 

Every  effort  should  be  made  to  provide  a  ball  ground,  not  only  for  boys,  but  for 
girls.  Tennis  and  basketball  are  splendid.  Volley  ball,  indoor  baseball,  tether  ball. 


10 


—  8  — 

are  excellent  expedients  for  restricted  space.     Running  tracks  and  jumping  pits 
may  be  provided.     Swimming  and  wading  pools  add  to  the  zest  and  interest. 

When  the  playground  merges  into  the  community  recreation  center,  the  scope  of 
equipment  becomes  truly  vast,  and  almost  as  varied  as  the  public  life  of  the  people. 

USE  OF  THE  SCHOOL  YARD.* 

"In  a  number  of  school  systems  of  my  acquaintance,"  says  Henry  S.  Curtis,  in  a 
recent  bulletin  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  "the  school  yard  is  used 
not  more  than  half  an  hour  to  an  hour  a  day.  The  children  are  sent  home  at  noon. 
They  are  not  allowed  to  come  in  the  morning  until  just  before  school,  and  they  are 
required  to  go  home  as  soon  as  school  is  out.  The  thought  has  been  apparently  to 
use  the  school  grounds  as  little  as  possible.  We  are  getting  a  new  conception  of 
what  is  desirable,  however,  and  the  whole  tendency  is  toward  wider  use.  I  am 
personally  inclined  to  think  that  the  next  ten  years  will  see  the  use  of  all  suitable 
school  yards  quadrupled.  This  is  coming  through  the  rapid  extension  of  the  sum- 
mer playground,  through  its  supervision  after  school  and  on  Saturdays  for  the 
same  purpose,  and  in  its  continuous  use  throughout  the  day  for  the  play  of 
different  classes.  I  expect  the  next  great  extension  of  its  use  to  be  as  a  playground 
at  night  for  the  adults  and  working  boys  and  girls  of  the  community.  If  the  play- 
ground is  properly  lighted,  it  is  possible  to  make  it  a  delightful  place  for  such  games 
as  voile}*  ball,  basket  ball,  tether  ball,  and  even  indoor  baseball  in  the  evening.  If 
the  school  furnishes  a  swimming  pool,  this  will  give  very  nearly  the  same  physical 
facilities  that  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association  offer. 

"For  the  small  child  the  paramount  question  is  not  arithmetic  or  geography,  but 
physical  health.  For  the  six-year-old,  two  hours  in  the  classroom  is  probably 
enough.  He  ought  to  have  two  or  three  periods  in  the  playground  every  day. 
This  time  may  well  grow  less  from  year  to  year  until  it  gets  down  to  perhaps  three 
periods  a  week.  The  child  needs  at  least  three  periods  for  physical  training. 
Three  periods  are  required  in  the  common  schools  of  Germany,  and  when  we  con- 
sider that  games  mean  not  only  physical  training,  but  social  and  moral  training  as 
well,  no  thoughtful  person  can  well  think  three  periods  too  much.  These  play 
periods  should  be  so  arranged  that  in  the  larger  schools  there  would  be  two  or 
three  classes  in  the  yard  all  the  time.  The  regular  teachers  should  play  with  the 
children,  but  there  should  be  a  special  playground  teacher  in  charge.  In  the  upper 
classes  four  baseball  ancl  four  volley  ball  teams  might  well  be  formed  in  each  class. 
The  girls  play  both  of  these  games  as  well  or  nearly  as  well  as  the  boys,  and  every 
child  should  be  required  to  play.  This  will  give  a  good  period  of  physical  training 
in  the  open  air,  and  the  volley  ball  will  be  one  of  the  best  possible  exercises  for 
correcting  the  stooped  and  rounded  shoulders  and  the  flat  chests  of  the  classroom." 

LEADER  ALL=IMPORTANT. 

Important  as  are  the  physical  assets  of  the  playground,  the  personal  element 
overshadows  all  else.  The  personality  of  the  play  leader  is,  at  bottom,  the  one 
factor  that  counts  vitally.  Miss  Bessie  L.  Stoddart,  president  of  the  Los  Angeles 
Playground  Commission,  summing  up  her  wide  experience,  declared  recently :  "I 


*  Any  one  interested  in  this  matter  should  by  all  means  send  to  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Education  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  for  a  copy  of  Bulletin  No.  16,  "The 
Reorganized  Playground." 

11 


would  say  that  the  success  of  a  playground  rests  ninety  per  cent  upon  the  character 
and  ability  of  the  one  in  charge,  letting  ten  per  cent  represent  the  equipment." 

The  power  for  good  that  the  right  kind  of  a  play  leader  may  exert  is  really  vast. 
The  physical  ends  to  be  obtained  through  the  playground  may  be  summed  up  as 
strength,  energy  and  happiness  in  the  children.  The  scope  of  the  social  ends  that 
may  be  effectively  reached  is  as  wide  as  life  itself. 

Cleanliness  is  of  prime  importance.  Provision  for  washing  should  always  be 
made,  personal  talks  given  children  who  are  dirty,  and  recognition  to  the  children 
who  are  neat.  Politeness  can  be  taught  by  example  and  by  encouraging  its  prac- 
tice to  the  leader  and  to  the  other  children  during  play,  when  it  is  most  apt  to  be 
neglected.  Formation  of  friendships;  obedience  to  the  rules  of  the  games;  loyalty 
to  the  team;  but  not  unreasoning  partisanship;  justice  in  the  enforcement  of  the 
"square  deal" ;  honesty ;  truthfulness  ;  courage  and  determination  —  all  these  and 
others  of  the  qualities  needful  for  the  make-up  of  real  men  and  women  can  and 
should  be  cultivated  on  the  playground  even  more  effectively  than  in  the  school./ 

The  director  should  be  a  companion;  should  know  as  many  of  the  children  as 
possible  by  name,  and  be  their  friend,  sympathetic  and  interested  in  their  experi- 
ences and  plans,  willing  to  help  in  all  their  right  endeavors.  If  he  possesses  any 
prowess  or  skill,  it  will  increase  the  effectiveness  of  his  example  in  everything ; 
and,  conversely,  ignorance  of  rules  or  inability  to  take  part  effectively  in  any  play- 
ground activity  will  decrease  his  influence  in  everything. 

Thus,  a  prime  need  of  the  movement  to-day  is  for  trained  leaders,  thoroughly 
equipped  in  a  technical  way  and  by  nature  fitted  for  the  social  side  of  the  work. 
There  is  necessity  for  capable  men  and  women  to  mold  best  results  from  the 
materials  put  in  their  hands,  by  this  swift  and  sure  campaign  for  the  uplift  of 
humanity. 

The  children  must  play.  Give  them  the  opportunity  to  do  it  well.  To  withhold 
it  is  dangerous  to  the  State. 


<  **r«8P 


12 


A  HIGH  SCHOOL  SWIMMING  POOL 

How    Enterprise    Improved    Life    for    One 
Community 


Escondido  High  School  swimming  pool,  built  through  the  enterprise  of  principal  and  pupils, 
being  used  by  the  girls  of  the  school. 

We  usually  think  of  a  swimming  pool  as  a  theoretical  affair,  very  far  away 
from  the  public  school.  Yet,  here  is  a  picture  of  a  pool  that  is  in  operation  to-day 
at  the  Escondido  High  School,  in  San  Diego  County.  The  girls  are  taking  a 
swim,  in  charge  of  their  teacher. 

The  pool  is  the  result  of  an  idea  conceived  by  John  H.  Crippen,  then  principal 
of  the  school,  when  he  one  day  accompanied  the  boys  of  the  school  to  a  makeshift 
"swimming  hole"  in  the  river,  where  they  were  accustomed  to  congregate.  Mr. 
Crippen  got  the  boys  and  girls  interested  in  the  idea  of  the  swimming  pool,  so 
that  they  donated  about  $100,  and  themselves  did  the  work  of  excavation  during 
noon  recesses  and  on  Saturdays.  The  trustees  of  the  school  gave  about  $300,  and 
one  of  them  secured  a  donation  of  $1CO  in  water  stock. 

The  pool  has  been  a  great  success  in  every  sense.  The  children  helped  in 
making  rules,  which  they  afterward  enforced,  such  as  a  provision  for  shower  baths 
before  using  the  plunge,  and  careful  safety  regulations. 

The  pool  was  built  practically  without  capital,  in  decomposed  granite  soil,  on 
top  of  a  hill,  and  in  a  region  where  water  costs  money.  The  water  drawn  from 
the  pool  is  used  for  irrigation,  so  there  is  no  loss.  An  equal  amount  of  enterprise 
could  make  the  school  swimming  plunge  common  in  California,  instead  of  a  rarity 
among  rarities. 

13 


TAMALPAIS   CENTER 

A    Country   Club    for    All 
the   People 

Imagine  a  country  club  for  all  the  people.  Picture  a  spot  made  the  center  of  the 
recreational  life  of  half  a  dozen  cities  and  towns,  and  a  wide  country  neighborhood. 
Think  of  those  communities  in  time  linked  by  a  close  bond  of  civic  interests,  devel- 
oped through  a  playground  that  is  set  down  in  the  midst  of  fields,  hills  and  wood- 
land. This  may  help  you  to  a  conception  of  Tamalpais  Center,  and  its  probable 
future. 

Twenty-nine  acres  of  beautiful,  hill-girt  country  land  in  an  attractive  little  valley 
in  Marin  County  are  now  being  used  solely  for  the  purposes  of  recreation.  The 
land,  with  a  modern  concrete  building  in  the  California  Mission  style,  and  an 
equipment  of  apparatus  and  athletic  grounds  comprise  the  Tamalpais  Center,  located 
at  Kentfield.  Patrons  of  the  place  come  from  all  the  lower  half  of  Marin  County, 
and  the  holiday  crowds  it  attracts  are  drawn  from  the  entire  Bay  region. 

The  Center  was  organized  on  May  Day,  1909,  as  a  result  of  a  gift  of  twenty-nine 
acres  from  Mrs.  A.  E.  Kent,  wife  of  the  California  Congressman.  It  is  controlled 
by  a  self-perpetuating  corporation,  but  is  now  leased  for  a  term  of  two  years  to  a 
club  of  progressive  women,  who  manage  the  place.  Every  department  is  free  to 
the  public.  A  trained  woman  playground  leader  has  charge  and  supervision  of 
activities. 

These  activities  comprise  dancing,  lectures,  dramatics,  folk  dancing,  art  classes, 
religious  study  classes,  and  the  athletic  and  play  features.  A  ballroom,  theater, 


Crowd  collected  at  the  clubhouse,  Kentfield,  on  the  occasion  of  a  May  Day  festival. 
Thousands  flock  to  see  the  children  play  on  these  occasions.  The  suggestion  of  life  and 
color  is  borne  out  in  the  original  of  the  picture. 


14 


clubrooms,  gymnasia  indoors  and  outdoors,  athletic  field  and  running  track,  ball 
courts,  baths,  and  every  modern  apparatus  are  included  in  the  equipment. 

The  clubhouse  is  unusually  complete.  Its  floors  are  large  and  of  the  best 
materials;  the  stage  and  scenery  all  that  are  necessary  for  a  first  class,  if  small, 
theater ;  the  club  rooms  cozy  though  roomy,  with  huge  open  fireplaces  to  give 
a  fine  suggestion  of  comfort ;  the  dressing  rooms  completely  furnished ;  the 
kitchen  roomy  and  fitted  out  with  every  essential  and  convenience.  The  athletic 
fields  are  so  well  suited  to  their  purpose  that  they  are  used  by  the  schools  of  the 
county  for  their  principal  games  and  field  sports. 

Tamalpais  Center  is  a  novel  experiment.  Very  much  is  expected  of  its  future 
development  by  men  who  are  most  interested  in  problems  of  civic  improvement. 
Xow,  it  seems  to  lack  a  supporting  public.  But  it  is  believed  that  with  increase  of 
population  that  is  bound  to  come  as  years  go  by,  the  public  value  of  the  Center  will 
increase  immeasurably,  and  that  it  will  not  only  become  a  public  property  of  the 
first  importance,  but  also  a  notable  monument  to  the  public  spirit  of  its  donor. 


A  typical  scene  at  the  Tamalpais  Civic  Center,  Kentfield,  showing  the  apparatus  in  use 
by  bevies  of  children  who  have  come  from  far  and  near.  Note  the  line  waiting  to  use  the 
slide,  which  is  probably  the  most  popular  and  useful  piece  of  equipment  in  any  typical 
playground. 


15 


A  SUNDAY  SCHOOL   PLAYGROUND 

Life  =  Giving    Plan     Supplants    Traditional 
Graveyard 

Walking  along  a  street  in  San  Francisco  one  day,  I  happened  to  spy  a  lot  of 
children  having  a  grand  time  playing  in  a  church  yard.  Over  the  gate  was  the 
hospitable  and  inviting  placard  shown  in  the  picture. 

Isn't  this  a  contrast  to  the  traditional  church  yard?  Better  a  place  of  light  and 
life  for  the  children  than  a  burying  ground  for  the  dead. 

This  unique  idea  originated  with  Mr.  Rolla  V.  Watt,  one  of  the  leading  citizens 
of  the  city,  who  gives  the  following  brief  account  of  it : 

''Rather  than  allow  this  valuable  corner  to  lie  idle  we  decided  to  institute  a 
children's  playground  for  the  benefit  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  we  were 
situated.  You  will  recall  that  while  this  was  largely  a  residential  section  prior  to 
the  fire  (of  1906),  since  that  time  no  residences  have  been  reconstructed  —  board- 
ing houses  and  apartment  houses  abound,  and  such  dwelling  places  do  not 
afford  any  opportunity  for  the  recreation  of  the  children  housed  therein.  This 
playground,  therefore,  proved  to  be  a  boon  to  that  neighborhood,  and  will 
continue  to  be  in  operation  until  we  are  in  a  position  to  complete  our  church 
building."  (E.  H.) 


Novel  invitation  to  enter  a   city  churchyard. 


16 


Second  grade  "playground  ball"  at  the  Chico  Normal  Training  School. 
"Playground  Ball"  is  an  adaption  of  reeular  baseball  suitable  for 
small  spaces  and  crowded  playgrounds.  It  is  played  with  a  large, 
soft  ball  and  the  bases  are  only  half  as  far  apart  as  in  base  ball.  It 
is  a  splendid  game  for  boys  and  girls  and  should  be  provided  on 
all  restricted  play  spaces. 


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